CAF India Conversation

Transforming lives through employee giving

Charitable Giving at individual level in India has always been the backbone of Indian culture from times unknown. Earliest known mention of charity as a virtuous practice is in the Rigveda. Since the Vedic period until recently, charitable giving barring religious donations in India has come a long way and has transformed into an act of systematic investment in social causes with the focus on yielding impact. More specifically, following the amendments incorporated in the Companies act 2013, corporates/ companies have started investing 2 % of their average net profit of preceding 3 years into social development projects, as warranted by the act. A huge population of workforce are engaged in these companies, who want to contribute towards social development in individual capacity. However, they are rendered clueless about the path to be taken for ensuring that their money impacts the life of someone who is in need.

Often, it is observed that individuals who want to make charitable contributions in monetary terms are influenced by their respective religious beliefs, and end up donating to religious charities without even realising that in what avenues their money is being used. Often, cases have emerged where money donated with the intent of a social cause is used for anti-national activities like money laundering, terror funding or black money amassing. Parallely, a large chunk of population in the country with substantial disposable income are seen giving money to people begging on the streets even without realising that, it could be promoting human trafficking or drug abuse.

In view of the aforementioned scenario of individual giving in the country, there are organisations which are working relentlessly to channelise the hard earned money of individual donors towards the right cause and right beneficiaries to ensure positive impact of their investment in social development. Our employee giving programme, ‘Give As You Earn’, helps the individuals and corporate citizens to identify the NGOs working for the cause close to their heart. It works by setting up a system for the employees of the company, where individual employees can pledge their support on monthly basis for the duration comfortable for them, and towards the cause they care for. With regular source of funds, our NGO partners were able to plan their expenses and bolster their interventions in a timely manner.

In the last financial year 2015-16, through our Give As You Earn programme, 196 NGOs in 16 states of India were supported by 19,433 employees, who contributed INR 10,55,87,284 towards the cause they care for. 14 core thematic areas of interventions were identified with the aim to create a more equitable and sustainable society. Give As You Earn programme was recently recognised for Excellence in Employee Engagement at the ABP News HR and Leadership Awards during the World HRD Congress in Mumbai. Individuals and corporate citizens under this programme were pivotal for steering the change that was witnessed in the lives of the marginalised. We aspire and strive for a more equitable and sustainable society, and with continued support of our esteemed patrons, we believe in the power of change through effective giving.